The band had struck a deal with PolyGram’s new subsidiary Wing Records for two albums, and there was even a writeup in Billboard Magazine about it, oddly enough. The album remains the group’s biggest seller and with good reason – it’s solid through and through. Main producer Peter Walsh created an album that wasn’t saddled with that “4AD sound,” but instead gave Xymox a danceable and accessible sound that you could shake your tail feathers to if you wanted, or just sit and take in the moodier pieces.
“Evelyn” starts the album off with its gigantic synth/string intro, a love song with that goth twist with lyrics like, “We walked ‘til the sunlight died.” “Obsession” was the lead single and made a pretty good impression on radio; it includes some of Ronny Moorings’ twistedly visual lyrics like, “It’s just the way it should be / It’s so right as rain / We stayed awake at night / With visions so unreal / We stayed awake at night / with visions so ideal / It’s got a hold on me”. “Blind Hearts” and “A Million Things” had already been included on a 12-inch that proved to be the final release that the band would do for former label 4AD. Here in re-recorded form and definitely not as murky sounding, they meld in perfectly with the other original numbers. “Imagination” proved to be the real surprise as the third single released, sung by bass player Anka Wolbert. It actually charted in the U.S., landing at number 85 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles and helping the album sell over 300,000 units. Not to be forgotten is the instrumental closer composed by main keyboardist Pieter Nooten, titled “Clementina.” It is a majestic and moving end to an album that has no blemishes.
Pylon Records has gone above and beyond by including five bonus tracks on the 2-LP edition (available in red or black) and 10 for the 2-CD version. Some are making their CD debut like the Club mix for “Blind Hearts,” the B-side track “Shame,” the Dub mix of “Imagination,” and the impossibly rare instrumental B-side (only available on a promotional pressing of the Blind Hearts 12-inch) “Promises.” There are still more, but I don’t want you reading all night, preferring that you find Twist of Shadows for yourself and spend your time listening. You will find it to be so worth it.
Geogaddi, the most anticipated sophomore full-length from an IDM act since Aphex Twin's SAW 2 in 1994, certainly looks and feels similar to the 1998 Boards of Canada debut, Music Has the Right to Children. The package design includes artful, bleached-out photos of children playing, while the lengthy track listing balances short vignettes with longer tracks. Fans will be delighted to hear that the music also reveals no great departure from one of the most immediately recognizable sounds in electronica; a pair of Scottish cottage producers apparently whiling away the hours creating music, Boards of Canada specialize in evocative, mournful, sample-laden downtempo music often sounding as though produced on malfunctioning equipment excavated from the ruins of an early-'70s computer lab. Geogaddi has a bit less in the way of melodics (the prime factor why Music Has the Right to Children was an immediate classic) and, as a result, sounds slightly less like trip-hop for fairy tales and more like the slightly experimental, but definitely produced, electronic music it is. Still, Boards of Canada surely haven't lost their touch for creating spectral machine music: "1969" is particularly lovely, with starburst synthesizer lines and disembodied vocoders trilling the chorus (the samples apparently originate from a David Koresh follower). For "Sunshine Recorder," a very fitting vocal sample -- lifted from a documentary concerning a species of dandelion found by sub-aquatic robots on the ocean floor (and yes, that is Leslie Nielsen narrating) -- prefaces the melancholy synth, vocal cut-ups, and glacier-speed basslines. It's clear Boards of Canada labored long to create Geogaddi, since only a tremendous amount of work can produce music that flows so naturally and unobtrusively that it never sounds produced.
Just to reiterate, John Peel had tremendous taste in music! The Sydney, Australia outfit Even As We Speak was one of late UK radio personality’s favorites.The band’s work garnered the attention of Mr. Peel in the early 1990s and as result, help usher in other attention in the form of three Top 5 singles on the Melody Maker_/_New Musical Express independent charts on top of acclaim in their native Australia.
Don’t let the haunting, foreboding opening track “Beelzebub” fool you, the album’s contents is more indicative of the band’s association with Sarah Records (known more for twee/sucrose pop sounds). Musically, the band carries over obvious familiarities like The Go-Betweens (“Falling Down the Stairs”), and The Primitives (“Beautiful Day”), with Paul Clarke’s and Matthew Love’s effervescent guitar work. Where the record differs from its Sarah brethren however is its contradicting pop variations (from the discotheque danceability of “Drown” and “Spirit of Progress” and the heavily-effected “Straight As An Arrow” to the easy flow of acoustic-based “Sailors’ Grave”), and weird segues (spoken word transitions like “Squid” and “Zeppelins” and an out-of-place, mouth-harp led “Cripple Creek”), between song clusters show the more experimental side of the band.
Feral Pop Frenzy remains a record with contradicting qualities of what pop music was at the time of its release all the while pushing a technological envelope of what was at a band’s disposal back in the early ’90s. With its diverse use of instrumentation, the album’s sound scapes sound as fresh today as they did then while Mary Wyer’s nectarous vocals give the tunes a brevity and beauty that allows the band’s sound explorations to remain grounded and wondrous
Stereolab were poised for a breakthrough release with Emperor Tomato Ketchup, their fourth full-length album. Not only was their influence becoming apparent throughout alternative rock, but Mars Audiac Quintet and Music for the Amorphous Body Center indicated they were moving closer to distinct pop melodies. The group certainly hasn't backed away from pop melodies on Emperor Tomato Ketchup, but just as their hooks are becoming catchier, they bring in more avant-garde and experimental influences, as well. Consequently, the album is Stereolab's most complex, multi-layered record. It lacks the raw, amateurish textures of their early singles, but the music is far more ambitious, melding electronic drones and singsong melodies with string sections, slight hip-hop and dub influences, and scores of interweaving countermelodies. Even when Stereolab appear to be creating a one-chord trance, there is a lot going on beneath the surface. Furthermore, the group's love for easy listening and pop melodies means that the music never feels cold or inaccessible. In fact, pop singles like "Cybele's Reverie" and "The Noise of Carpet" help ease listeners into the group's more experimental tendencies. Because of all its textures, Emperor Tomato Ketchup isn't as immediately accessible as Mars Audiac Quintet, but it is a rich, rewarding listen. [Like all of the 2019 Stereolab reissues, Emperor Tomato Ketchup's bonus material is lovingly curated and provides an illuminating look into the band's creative process. Fans will be especially excited about the two rarities included here: "Freestyle Dumpling," which was previously only available as a bonus 7" included with the Japanese version of Aluminum Tunes, is a shining example of the band's bouncy, philosophical pop from this era -- and a reminder of how strong the rest of Stereolab's material was at the time that they didn't include it on the album. Likewise, the breezy, brassy "Old Lungs," which was formerly included on a 2002 All Tomorrow's Parties collection curated by Sonic Youth, is another delight. The Emperor Tomato Ketchup demos are also a treat, offering stripped-down but still intricately lovely sketches of songs such as "Cybele's Reverie," where Laetitia Sadier and Mary Hansen's glorious vocal interplay takes center stage. A slower, almost sultry version of "Percolator" and a surprisingly subtle take on "Metronomic Underground" are among the other fascinating moments. Combined with Tim Gane's insightful liner notes, this edition of Emperor Tomato Ketchup is a must for fans of the band and this landmark album in particular.]
